Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Says Only the US Can Prevent Israel from Attacking Rafah

Israeli military land operations in Gaza. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that only the United States could prevent Israel from carrying out an attack on Rafah and was responsible for this, when an attack on the area was expected to occur in the next few days, it could force Palestinians who had taken refuge there to leave. the city.

This was conveyed by President Abbas in his speech while attending a special meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

"We call on the United States to ask Israel not to carry out the Rafah attack. America is the only country capable of preventing Israel from carrying out this crime," said President Abbas, reported by Reuters, April 28.

Israel is known to have threatened to launch an attack on Rafah, stepping up airstrikes there last week, insisting they needed to get into Rafah to destroy the remaining Hamas battalions there.

Western countries, including Israel's closest ally, the United States, have asked Israel to refrain from attacking the city that borders the Egyptian border and hosts more than a million Palestinians who fled the war in the north that broke out on October 7, 2023.

President Abbas said "the whole of Gaza" had thronged the city which has been under threat of Israeli invasion for months.

"It only takes a small attack to force everyone to leave Palestine," he warned, quoted by The National News.

"Israel needs someone to force it to stop, to convince Israel that this is unacceptable, and the only country in the world that can do that, and that we hold responsible, is the United States," he said.

The Gaza conflict is expected to dominate WEF talks in Riyadh, where President Abbas will meet regional leaders on the sidelines of the special meeting.

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan told the forum that level-headed leaders "must prevail" amid rising tensions.

"It is unfortunate to see the loss of life wherever it occurs. Civilian lives matter, whether in Ukraine, Palestine, or elsewhere," said Minister Al Jadaan.

"When you have conflict like this in your region, it puts a lot of pressure on emotions and moods and it's no secret that the economy is influenced by perceptions," he explained.

"I think cool-headed countries, leaders, and people have to prevail, and you need to make sure that you actually de-escalate," he said.

The US says it has not given approval to Israel's invasion of Rafah, despite claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a date for the attack has been set.

Last week, Israeli media reported the offensive would likely begin in the coming days, amid the redeployment of reserve troops to the enclave.

President Abbas said that while he condemned the October 7 attack on Israel, Palestinians were collectively punished for the Hamas attack.

"Israel took advantage of the attack to retaliate disproportionately against the people of Gaza under the pretext that they wanted revenge against Hamas," he said.

"But in reality, what they are doing is taking revenge against the Palestinian people as a whole," concluded President Abbas.